Game Week - UConn v. Purdue (Saturday 9/11/21 @ 3p on CBSSN)

[huskymedic]

 

[WestCoastHusky]

I hope the plan on D is to put as much pressure on the Purdue QB as possible. Blitz at least 70% of the time with various combinations of LBs, corners and safeties. Six or seven guys attacking like mad dogs from all directions. Hit him, rattle him, get in his head. Minimize the time our DBs have to cover. Balls out and let the chips fall where they may. What's to lose?

The old Don Brown defense was fun to watch. I hope we bring back some of those blitzing packages.

 

[BlueDogs]

Honest question - what makes you think they won’t fold when they are punched in the mouth? You don’t fold because you don’t like your coach - because if that is a reason we have even bigger issues than are already big issues. I said it in another thread - you play for your brothers on the field, you play for your school and you play for your family. I don’t care who the coach is.

that’s what has been the most dissapointing with this roster. We all (well most of us even if some didn’t want to admit) know this roster is not the most talented - we lost to an FCS school for many reasons including abysmal coaching. But many on the roster had similar offers to the players they were squaring up against.

regardless - I just want to see fight. If you get beat because someone is better than you, hey that’s life sometimes, but show some fight. Get back up again and go at it, show some emotion. My hope is that there are some emerging leaders on this roster who saw the things we saw and will call their teammates to task privately.

The culture needs to be changed.

Agree. You got guys that aren’t high intensity, aggressive types that enjoy contact and knocking people down. if I hear one more guy say we need to execute better, I’ll puke. What they need to do is start physically beating teams. Aggression must be job one.

 

[Hornet22]

Agree. You got guys that aren’t high intensity, aggressive types that enjoy contact and knocking people down. if I hear one more guy say we need to execute better, I’ll puke. What they need to do is start physically beating teams. Aggression must be job one.

Don’t say I necessarily agree with this take. This year I definitely see aggressive tackling and a more physical presence with this team. Truth is, if you watch the games again it is mostly an execution problem. You can be as aggressive as you want to be but if you’re in the wrong position then it’s baseless

 

[businesslawyer]

Question and answered in your own post. You are correct the culture needs to change. The difference between folding and winning the play is one breath of effort. The time it takes for one breath is the difference between winning and losing your battle.

Now, do I believe it flips 180 degrees in one game? No. But I want to see improvements in it. Some of it may come from changes on the two deep. Nice to believe that every teenager and young adult is fully maturized into internalizing their motivations for success. Reality is sometimes you need to see your brother on the field take that extra bit of effort to motivate you to do the same. Seeing is believing- a batter in a slump finally sees a well struck ball go in the gap for a double instead of a diving outfielder making a catch, a golfer finally sees a good putt go in the hole instead of lipping out, a basketball shooter sees a jump shot go in...........................

Wait. It's possible for golfers to see good putts go in the hole and not lip out? Who knew.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[BlueDogs]

Don’t say I necessarily agree with this take. This year I definitely see aggressive tackling and a more physical presence with this team. Truth is, if you watch the games again it is mostly an execution problem. You can be as aggressive as you want to be but if you’re in the wrong position then it’s baseless

Hornet: Execution is essential, but it isn’t the whole. I think you know a good % of the game is psychological and rooted in physicality. You can make opponents not execute through physicality resulting in fatigue, second guessing, hesitancy. Holy Cross won that game because they believed they could stand physically toe to toe with UConn. We never won the body mind battle. By Q3 their D line should have been beat down. It wasn’t. Our Defense was not putting big hits on them, pressure was intermittent, and they never really felt pressed. Go back and see how many guys were swarming to the tackle. Very few.

 

[gioff2323]

It’s hard to out physical an opponent who is physically stronger.

 

[Hornet22]

Hornet: Execution is essential, but it isn’t the whole. I think you know a good % of the game is psychological and rooted in physicality. You can make opponents not execute through physicality resulting in fatigue, second guessing, hesitancy. Holy Cross won that game because they believed they could stand physically toe to toe with UConn. We never won the body mind battle. By Q3 their D line should have been beat down. It wasn’t. Our Defense was not putting big hits on them, pressure was intermittent, and they never really felt pressed. Go back and see how many guys were swarming to the tackle. Very few.

I agree with you on the line. Small percentage of it is execution and the majority is pure physical- we lost that battle- at least on the OL. In terms of our D Line, the fact that Sluka could scramble posed a problem for our box. Save for that long run by their QB, it wasn’t like they gashed us for lots of yardage on the ground.

I still feel that we forced enough punts that if our offense cashed in on most of those possessions we would have psychologically beat them down. And to your point, when the mind goes the body soon follows.

For instance, after we scored on our long td, their first snap Jones smacked the QB. The next play, Durante physically dislodged the ball from the RB and we recovered and scored a few plays later. Next possession we forced a 3 and out with that 3rd down tackle by Fortt being very physical. HC started doubting themselves. We score after that game is over. Instead, Jack Zergiotis throws it off a lineman’s helmet and into theirs foe a pick 6

HOWEVER, if we finished them off on D we probably win the game and Edsall is still here so…As the old saying goes: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

 

[UConnJim]

It’s hard to out physical an opponent who is physically stronger.

No way HC had a physically stronger team. I know that heights and weights aren't necessarily a good proxy for strength, but compare the UConn and HC starting lines and TE:

OL:

UConn average: 6'5" 300 lbs
HC average: 6'5" 291 lbs

DL:

UConn average: 6'4" 284 lbs
HC average: 6'3" 268 lbs.

TE:

UConn: 6'4" 253 lbs.
HC: 6'4" 235 lbs.


In my opinion, the differences in the game were QB play and missed assignments, not strength.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Hmmm...I am sure when this was planned Edsall was a big part of the celebration. Now it's a bit awkward.

 

[Jimdish255]

This makes him sound like he could be a solid game manager with the right assistants if communication is good. And he's probably more ready than most. Only issue could be late game decisions and clock management if we're lucky enough to get there.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[HuskiesFan1014]

Wow. Going through the 2010 roster is a trip down a much happier Memory Lane, before it became a dark place located on the other side of the tracks.
https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/football/roster/2010

 

[gioff2323]

Hmmm...I am sure when this was planned Edsall was a big part of the celebration. Now it's a bit awkward.

No more awkward than flight home from Phoenix

 

[gioff2323]

No way HC had a physically stronger team. I know that heights and weights aren't necessarily a good proxy for strength, but compare the UConn and HC starting lines and TE:

OL:

UConn average: 6'5" 300 lbs
HC average: 6'5" 291 lbs

DL:

UConn average: 6'4" 284 lbs
HC average: 6'3" 268 lbs.

TE:

UConn: 6'4" 253 lbs.
HC: 6'4" 235 lbs.


In my opinion, the differences in the game were QB play and missed assignments, not strength.

While I was thinking ahead (Purdue), one thing to keep in mind is most of those nameless persons you point to above are under 20. Regardless, if u can’t physically dominate HC up front, this will be a very long year.

 

[BlueDogs]

I agree with you on the line. Small percentage of it is execution and the majority is pure physical- we lost that battle- at least on the OL. In terms of our D Line, the fact that Sluka could scramble posed a problem for our box. Save for that long run by their QB, it wasn’t like they gashed us for lots of yardage on the ground.

I still feel that we forced enough punts that if our offense cashed in on most of those possessions we would have psychologically beat them down. And to your point, when the mind goes the body soon follows.

For instance, after we scored on our long td, their first snap Jones smacked the QB. The next play, Durante physically dislodged the ball from the RB and we recovered and scored a few plays later. Next possession we forced a 3 and out with that 3rd down tackle by Fortt being very physical. HC started doubting themselves. We score after that game is over. Instead, Jack Zergiotis throws it off a lineman’s helmet and into theirs foe a pick 6

HOWEVER, if we finished them off on D we probably win the game and Edsall is still here so…As the old saying goes: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

LOL - lemons into lemonade.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[BlueDogs]

No way HC had a physically stronger team. I know that heights and weights aren't necessarily a good proxy for strength, but compare the UConn and HC starting lines and TE:

OL:

UConn average: 6'5" 300 lbs
HC average: 6'5" 291 lbs

DL:

UConn average: 6'4" 284 lbs
HC average: 6'3" 268 lbs.

TE:

UConn: 6'4" 253 lbs.
HC: 6'4" 235 lbs.


In my opinion, the differences in the game were QB play and missed assignments, not strength.

Not strength (though we took a year off getting stronger), it's physical aggression.
But, even on the sizing: Uconn 300 OL vs HC 268 DL is a huge difference over the course of a game.
Likewise, Uconn 284 DL vs HC OL 291 should have been more than neutralizing with a natural D advantage.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Guys it isn't always man on man blocking for the O line. Pulling means coordination of blocking schemes and someone is always in the wrong spot, turned the wrong way, etc. From a D line perspective, sometimes you hold the gaps and other times it is for containment.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I hope the plan on D is to put as much pressure on the Purdue QB as possible. Blitz at least 70% of the time with various combinations of LBs, corners and safeties. Six or seven guys attacking like mad dogs from all directions. Hit him, rattle him, get in his head. Minimize the time our DBs have to cover. Balls out and let the chips fall where they may. What's to lose?

More big plays?

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Hornet22]

LOL - lemons into lemonade.

Summery sweet lemonade!

 

[NowInStorrs]

Lou Spanos: